


Everlong

by ashleyfanfic



Series: Dangerous Woman [1]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Arya and Gendry meet, F/M, Fighting, Flirting, Funny, Modern AU, Sexting, Sexy Times, Smut, Texting, artist welder Gendry, how their relationship started and progressed, not a slow burn really, spinoff from dangerous woman, ultimate fighter arya
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-08 02:04:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21227984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashleyfanfic/pseuds/ashleyfanfic
Summary: Using the universe of Dangerous Woman, I thought it would be fun to explore how Arya and Gendry ended up where they are and the significance of their relationship. How Arya met and fell in love with Gendry.





	1. Hello, I've waited here for you

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've been working on this for a while now. I wanted to expound on their relationship because it's fun. They're fun. 
> 
> The title comes from the song "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters, which if you read Dangerous Woman, you will know is one of Arya's favorite bands. I also really love the song for them. The mood board was made by the lovely and talented justwanderingneverlost and she even betaed for me. I love you so much woman!

_ _

__Hello  
I've waited here for you  
Everlong  
Tonight  
I throw myself into  
And out of the red  
Out of her head she sang  
  
Come down  
And waste away with me  
Down with me  
Slow how  
You wanted it to be  
I'm over my head  
Out of her head she sang  
  
And I wonder  
When I sing along with you  
If everything could ever feel this real forever  
If anything could ever be this good again  
The only thing I'll ever ask of you  
You gotta promise not to stop when I say when she sang  
  
Breathe out  
So I can breathe you in  
Hold you in  
And now  
I know you've always been  
Out of your head  
Out of my head I sang  
  
And I wonder  
When I sing along with you  
If everything could ever feel this real forever  
If anything could ever be this good again  
The only thing I'll ever ask of you  
You gotta promise not to stop when I say when she sang  
  
So, Dad would take the Sundays off.  
And that's the only time he could ever get any rest.  
And so, because we were loud on Sundays, he'd make us hold his construction boots over our head, 'til we'd sleep.  
And they were really heavy boots and I used to say, "Dad, come on, please."  
And like start crying, 'cause they're too heavy.  
  
And I wonder  
If everything could ever feel this real forever  
If anything could ever be this good again  
The only thing I'll ever ask of you  
You've got to promise not to stop when I say when

_ Everlong  
**Foo Fighters** _

She was busy with the heavy bag, throwing kicks and punches as her trainer held it in place. Her fists flew quickly, making contact in the face and side of the bag, her knees, shins, and feet flying with practiced ease. The trainer called for her to stop and handed over her water bottle. Syrio was a taskmaster and she loved it. 

She was taking a gulp of water when she saw him. She nearly choked. Even from across the gym she could see he had bright blue eyes and an easy smile. The statue that had been rolled in, but covered, was placed beside the owner’s office door. She watched as he cut the ties holding the sheet in place and pulled it off. It was metal art, welded together to form an abstract fighter. Liam Greenhand loved it. Syrio was called over to have a look and shook the mysterious artist’s hand. 

She grabbed a passing Lommy. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, dad had that piece done by one of the art students at school. They think he’s going to be a big deal in the art scene and so dad wanted a piece before he got big,” he said with a smile.

“That the artist?” she asked, nodding at the man with bright blue eyes.

Lommy followed her attention and he smiled dreamily. “That’s him. I think I’m half in love with him. His name is Gendry Waters.”

She removed her gloves and headpiece. She brushed back wisps of hair that had escaped from her braid. “How do I look?”

“Scary,” he answered. “Wait, are you going to talk to him?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Tits look alright?”

“What tits?” Arya elbowed him. He groaned and gripped his stomach. “I’d wish you good luck but you can go to hell,” he said as he sat on the bench.

She finally felt presentable enough, but when she turned he was gone. She walked over to the sculpture, thinking that it was just bits of metal being placed together until she moved to stand in front of it and realized it was actually a fighter, one gloved hand raised in a punch, both feet perfectly placed. The way parts of the metal had been colored added shadow and texture. It was a gorgeous piece of work and she had to admit she was highly impressed. 

Liam was in his office, on the phone, and Syrio was climbing into the ring. Gendry was indeed gone. “Arya,” Syrio called, “in the ring. Lommy, help her get her gear back on.”

She felt disappointment roll through her and decided the best way to get it out was to hit things as hard as she could.

*~*

Arya found out Gendry had a workshop in a warehouse not far from school. She’d gone and watched through the window as he donned his welding mask, flames and sparks flying as he welded. He even had a fire pit where it looked like he heated metal and all the hammers and tools needed to bend the pieces into shapes. She was struck dumb by the way his muscles rippled beneath his t-shirt. 

She saw guys with great bodies all the time. So it was surprising she could even be affected by it at this point. But Gendry and his rippling biceps had her dizzy as she had made her way to the gym that day.

She had strong armed Lommy, literally, into getting Gendry’s cell number from his father’s office. She knew texting him without meeting him first would be considered weird. So she followed him to the library one day, knowing she would hesitate to ever admit to such weird and stalkerish behavior. She acted as if she had wandered into the same stack as him. He hadn’t looked up from the book he was inspecting. 

_ What would Sansa do _ ?

She looked to the top shelf, which she was too short to reach, found a book she could use if needed for one of her classes and stood on her toes to reach it. Her fingers brushed the spine but it was truly out of reach. 

She could feel him walking toward her and her brain leaped triumphantly as he reached up and took the book down for her. He handed it over with a bright smile. “Thanks,” she said as she held it against her chest. “I was about to climb the stacks to get it. My dignity would have died.”

Gendry adjusted the bag hanging from his shoulder. “I’m more than happy to have spared your dignity. Gendry Waters,” he said as he held out his hand.

“Arya Stark,” she said as she shook his hand. She reached for the book in his hand. “Metal working?”

He nodded. “I’m an art student. Metal is my preferred medium.” He looked at her title. “Torture devices?”

She gave him a small smile. “It’s a study in how the human body endures pain.” His eyes widened a little and she panicked. “I’m not a serial killer or anything,” she rushed out, then snorted. “Which is something a serial killer would say, I suppose.”

Gendry smirked. “I don’t think they would admit it. Would they?”

She shrugged. “Probably not.”

“What brought you to the states?”

“Scholarship. I’m in my final year.”

“Same. I’m surprised I haven’t seen you before now.”

“Oh, well, I spend a lot of time in the gym,” she answered. Her cell phone ringing suddenly cut off their conversation. It was Syrio. She answered it. “Hello?”

“You aren’t here thirty minutes early. I thought something might be wrong.”

She smiled. “I’ll be there soon. I’m at the library.”

“Get here soon. I have a new combination for you.”

“Look forward to it,” she said and hit end on her phone. Gendry eyed her, and she could see a question forming. “Sorry, that was my trainer. Got suspicious when I wasn’t there yet.”

He nodded. “Well, don’t let me keep you. It was nice meeting you,” he said as he started walking away. She stomped her foot in frustration, angry the conversation had been so short. Tucking the book onto the shelf beside her, she left the library. She entered the gym a few minutes later and went into the locker room to change. She quickly French braided her hair, then met Syrio beside the punching bag. She was relieved she’d be able to release some of her disappointment on the bag. 

Lommy helped her get her gloves on and she put her antsy energy into every jab and kick. Sleep would be easy to find that evening.

*~*

She had worked on the text for over an hour, trying to sound casual and not like a stalker. 

_ Hi, I don’t know if you remember me, but this is Arya Stark from the library. I asked Lommy Greenhands to get your number for me. I promise I’m not a serial killer! _

She liked it. It had a bit of humor mixed in with honesty. She closed her eyes and hit send, then proceeded to stare at her phone for over an hour, waiting for some reaction. When it didn't come she began to panic, wondering if Lommy would've given her the wrong number. Or what if Gendry saw it and was turned off by how forward she was? She paced her room, realizing this was why she didn’t do this sort of thing. It was too stressful. After two hours she gave up and stormed into the bathroom for a shower.

When she came out, she felt cleaner but still upset he hadn’t responded. Then ber phone buzzed. She rushed over to it to see there was a text from Gendry.

_ Are you sure you’re not a serial killer? You did get my number without asking me for it and sent me a very serious text where you tried to reaffirm, again, that you’re not. _

She smiled.  _ Very sure. Sorry to text you out of the blue, but I saw your sculpture in the gym and wanted to let you know that I thought it was beautiful. _

_ Thanks. That explains how you know Lommy. I’m glad you liked it.  _

_ You work with metal. That has to be a unique choice.  _

_ LOL Unique or stupid? _

_ Unique. If I thought it was stupid, I would have said so. What made you decide on that? _

_ Fire. Metal. Man. I promise I’m not a neanderthal. _

She laughed.  _ Well, you are capable of making coherent sentences through text without using emojis, so I believe you. _

_ I suppose I could use emojis as a sort of caveman drawing. Let you guess what I’m saying through pictures. _

_ No, I like this better. _

_ Good. _

_ *~* _

_ Sometimes, professors are useless! _

_ I’m sure they appreciate the support. _

_ Shut up. You know it as well as I do. Weren’t you the one complaining about your professor saying your sculpture looked too phallic? _

_ Yes, but when I stepped back and looked at it, he was right. Didn’t make me change it, just made me go with it. _

_ So, your new piece of work is a dick? _

_ It sounds so crude when you put it like that, but yes. And I already have a potential buyer for it, so apparently, dicks sell. _

_ LOL good to know _

_ Other than your professor giving you a problem, how was your day? _

_ Good. I made two girls submit today. _

_ Congratulations _

_ Oh, it’s a definite cause for celebration. Want to meet and get a beer? _

_ I would, but my dick sculpture has to be done by nine. I have some finishing touches to put on it. _

_ Like a bow? _

_ LOL wouldn’t that be something? No. Gotta shine it up. _

_ So it’s a shiny dick? _

_ This is a really weird conversation. _

_ But a fun one. _

_ I’m heading into the studio. We could meet for breakfast after I turn it in tomorrow if you want. _

_ I’ll be finishing my morning workout. Can you swing by Lommy’s gym? _

_ Yeah, I’ll meet you there. _

_ Great. _


	2. It's Times Like These You Learn To Live Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya and Gendry continue to hang out and move their relationship forward. Don't worry, Nymeria is here with cute doggy cuddles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to justwanderingneverlost for the beta job and the gorgeous mood board for this chapter that I'm totally in love with.
> 
> I hope you like this chapter. Remember, this isn't a slow burn because they're already established in Dangerous Woman. i just wanted to show how they get to where they are in that fic.

_ I—I'm a one-way motorway _

_ I'm the road that drives away _

_ Follows you back home _

_ I—I'm a street light shining _

_ I'm a white light blinding bright _

_ Burning off and on _

_ It's times like these you learn to live again _

_ It's times like these you give and give again _

_ It's times like these you learn to love again _

_ It's times like these time and time again _

_ I—I'm a new day rising _

_ I'm a brand new sky _

_ To hang the stars upon tonight _

_ But I—I'm a little divided _

_ Do I stay or run away _

_ And leave it all behind? _

  


_ It's times like these you learn to live again _

_ It's times like these you give and give again _

_ It's times like these you learn to love again _

_ It's times like these time and time again _

_ Times Like These _

** _The Foo Fighters_ **

  


She hadn’t noticed when he’d come in, lost in the kicks to the heavy bag. She had a tendency to push everything from her mind when she was working out. But as she began pulling the tape from her wrists, he walked up to her, a smile on his face. “You’re a fighter.”

She nodded. “Yeah. What did you think?”

He chuckled. “You don’t want to know.”

“I’m going to change in the locker room and then I’ll be ready to go.”

“I’ll wait for you by the door,” he said with a nod.

She hurriedly took a shower, keeping her hair from the water and in its tight braid. Once she was clean, she pulled on a t-shirt and jeans, then her boots, slipped into her jacket, and tucked her scarf around her neck. She didn’t put on makeup. She wanted him to see her as she was normally. She wasn’t girly and wanted to make sure he knew who she was. 

She joined him at the door about ten minutes later. “There’s a cafe around the corner that’s really good,” she suggested. 

He nodded. “Sounds good. How long have you been doing that?”

“I’ve been doing Judo since I was eight. Won some championships and such at home. Syrio, my coach, saw me in a tournament that I won and they offered me a scholarship here to continue studying Judo. I was already a black belt. But I’ve been adding other disciplines. I’d like to become an MMA fighter.”

“That’s amazing. I now feel safer on the streets with you at my side.”

“I’m sure you could take care of yourself.”

He smiled at her and she felt her heart flutter in her chest. Who was she? She didn’t get like this about boys. She was immune to cute smiles and tight butts. Or she thought she was. Gendry made her stomach feel like butterflies were flying around. He opened the door for her and they were shown to a table. “You’re not...intimidated by it, are you?”

He nodded. “Yes. Intimidated as hell.”

She shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I mean...” her face flushed and she hated her body reacting like this in front of him. “You know, there are guys out there that wouldn’t like me because I could kick their arse.”

“Those guys are idiots,” he responded quickly. 

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“No, it doesn’t bother me.” He tilted his head. “Has someone complained about it in the past?”

She shook her head. “Only my sister and most of the idiots I went to school with back home.”

“Glad I’m smarter than them,” he said and she felt a great swelling of affection for him. He shrugged out of his coat and scarf, draping them over the empty chair at his side. “You have a sister? Is that your only sibling?”

“No. I have four brothers,” she answered. “Two older and two younger.”

“And your sister? Is she older or younger.”

“Sansa’s older and prettier and the apple of my mother’s eye.” Gendry furrowed his brow and she felt nervous at the look on his face. “What?”

“I’m just trying to figure out prettier.”

Arya blushed again. “Oh.” She shook her head, hoping to shed her nervousness. “What about you? Do you have any siblings?”

“Three half siblings that I have never met nor will I ever, probably.”

“Oh? Why?”

“My father’s wife hates my very existence. I only saw him a handful of times in my life before he passed.”

“I’m sorry.”

He shrugged, pulled a face. “It’s fine, I promise. My mother and I managed to have a good time in life without him, so it’s not that I feel like I missed out on much.”

“Where did your love for art come from?” she asked, moving them on to something else just in case.

“I used to draw to control some of my attention problems. Drove my teachers crazy. They determined I have ADHD and I do better with exams orally than I do writing things down. Something happens in my head between me hearing it and being able to put it to paper.” He shrugged. “When I was younger the school system didn’t have the patience they do with it now. My mother spent a lot of time at school arguing that if they just read the test to me out loud I would pass. Finally, I had one teacher in high school who understood that and he would make sure I had every test done that way and I passed as valedictorian with a 4.0.” He took a deep breath, “And when I got here, of all the art classes, metalworking was the one I was most interested in even though I excelled at drawing.”

“Do you still draw?”

He nodded. “All the time. The insides of my notebooks are filled with drawings.”

“Well, you know you have to show me now.”

He reached into his bag and pulled out a small sketchbook. She opened it and found geometric designs as well as sketches of people. There were a few nudes of a woman. And the more she flipped through the book, she kept appearing. She looked up at him and smiled. “These are beautiful.”

He blushed this time. “Thanks.”

“Is this your girlfriend?”

He furrowed his brow and shook his head. “No. She was the model for the class.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?” she blurted and wanted to bash her own head into the wall.

However, the waitress took that exact moment to walk up and Arya wanted to bash _ her _ head into the wall for interrupting. “What can I get for you?”

“Ladies first,” he said with a nod to her.

“I’ll have coffee with the egg and bacon plate.”

She wrote it down then turned to Gendry. “Pancakes and coffee,” he answered. The waitress walked away and Arya looked back at the sketch book again. “No.” Her eyes shot up, meeting his blue. “I don’t have a girlfriend. Do you have a boyfriend?”

She shook her head. “No. Like I said, a lot of guys are intimidated by what I do.”

“A lot of guys are stupid.”

She smiled, closing his sketchbook and pushed it back to him. “I have to admit, I’m still curious as to what you thought I was texting you about every day.”

He chuckled and threw a hand up, rubbing the back of his neck. “Please don’t make me say it out loud.”

“Oh, now you _ have _ to tell me.”

The waitress appeared with their coffee. When she walked away, Arya looked at him expectantly and he groaned. He ran a hand over his face, his cheeks turning red. “Fine. I thought you were a dominatrix,” he mumbled.

She laughed, loud, and he did as well. “Why would you think that?”

“You said you were studying the human body’s response to pain. And you kept talking about making people submit...”

She laughed harder. “You must have been terrified.”

“I have to admit that finding out you’re a fighter is less intimidating than thinking you’re a dominatrix.”

She shook her head, still chuckling. “I’m so glad I put you at ease.”

“It does a bit,” he responded with a chuckle of his own. “Though, the image I had in my head was pretty hot.”

“Oh?”

“For some reason, you were always dressed like Jane Fonda in _ Barbarella _.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m afraid I’m lacking the assets that would’ve made that entertaining.”

He eyed her critically and it was hard not to squirm beneath his gaze. Luckily, their food arriving distracted him. She sighed wistfully as she watched him pour syrup on the stack of pancakes in front of him, not even the smell of her bacon could pull her attention away. He cleared his throat and her gaze met his. “Why are you looking at my plate like that?”

She huffed out an irritated breath. “I can’t eat carbs.”

He tilted his head at her. “At all?”

She shook her head. “I have to keep my body in prime fighting form, and protein is how you build muscle mass. I mean, most things have a few carbs, except meat, but I try to keep it really low.”

“You should’ve told me and I would’ve ordered something else,” he said and she could hear the regret in his voice.

She shook her head. “No. It’s fine! Believe me. But if I make you uncomfortable watching you eat them, I apologize.”

He tilted his head. “So, you can’t have a bite?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t tempt me,” she whispered, even she could hear the plea behind her words.

He smirked and cut out a small triangle from the top and placed it on her plate. “But what if I want to tempt you.”

“You’re a bad man,” she said as she stared at it. She turned her attention to her bacon, picked it up and ate it quickly. However, the triangle was still there, tempting her. The light caught on the syrup just so, and it seemed to be calling her name. She should kick him in the shin for putting that temptation on her plate. She ate her eggs, still glancing at it and then up at the smirking man in front of her. He looked so smug as he ate his pancakes. 

“How do you stay so lean eating things like that?”

He swallowed the bite in his mouth and sipped his coffee. “I’m constantly moving while I’m working on the metal. And when I’m using the forge, it’s hot so I sweat a lot. I also try to do thirty minutes of cardio every morning.”

“Treadmill?”

He shook his head. “I run through the park.”

“If you ever want a running partner...”

He smiled. “Really?”

“Yeah. I’d like to run through the park, but when I get up in the morning it’s still dark and I don’t feel safe about it.”

“I can swing by your place and we can go in the morning if you want,” he offered.

She smiled. “That sounds great.”

“Do you live on campus?”

“No, I have an apartment off campus,” she pushed her plate away and wished for the ill-timed waitress to come back and take it, but she was nowhere to be seen. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. She had a message from Sansa about when she was flying back for Christmas and one from Jon telling her he was staying with Robb. She sent Gendry a text with her address. “I just gave you my address.”

He smiled. “I’ll bring you a doughnut for breakfast.”

“I will kill you,” she warned.

He chuckled. “Eat that little bit of pancake and I won’t.”

She rolled her eyes, picked up her fork, and ate it. The fluffy bite was nearly more than she could handle. The delicious sweet syrup mixed with the fluffy pancake was enough to make her eyes roll back in her head and eventually close. When she regained her senses she looked up to see Gendry damn near smoldering at her. He should not be able to look like that. 

Then he had the audacity to smile at her. “Five alright with you?”

*~*

Like clockwork, Gendry buzzed her apartment at five on the dot. Nymeria circled her feet, but she didn’t want to scare him off with the giant dog. She pulled on her hoodie and told him she’d be down shortly. As she exited her building, she gave him a smile. His nose and cheeks were already pink from the cold, but his blue eyes shone with happiness and she liked to think that it was from seeing her.

He wore a beanie on his head that covered his ears, and he too, wore a hoodie and thick sweatpants. “Not too early for you?” he questioned as they both stretched and she lamented the loose fitting pants he wore as she wasn’t able to see the sculpted arse she knew he had. She mentally chastised herself. She had never been so obsessed with seeing a male figure before, but something about him had her feeling like a horn dog. 

“I’m usually up and running on the treadmill by this time. Will be nice to look at something other than beige walls,” she said as she bent over and held on to her toes for a moment, noticing his eyes were fixed on her arse. She inwardly smiled to herself. Maybe he was as attracted to her as she was to him. A few moments more of stretches and they started at a slow jog down the sidewalk. Her apartment wasn’t that far from the park, they were there in no time.

They jogged in silence for a while, just trying to keep pace with one another without tiring out. “Do you want to get coffee after this?” he asked, not looking at her. They were spending more and more time together and she reckoned he noticed as well.

“I would, but I have class at nine.”

“What class?”

“History of Modern East Asia.”

He let out a scoff. “Why are you taking a class like that?”

“Fulfilled one of my requirements for a BA. It’s fun, though. Teacher leaves it to the TA and that guy lived in China for two years. He has some hilarious stories,” she said with a smile. “Come on, haven’t you taken any strange classes?”

“I’m an art major, of course I have.”

“Weirdest one.”

“Full disclosure, I’m not proud of this, but I signed up for Spanish, and didn’t realize for two classes that the class I was sitting in wasn’t Spanish, but Russian. But, I liked the professor, so I took two years of Russian.”

She shook her head. “And what can you say in Russian?”

“I can ask you where the bathroom is. And I can tell you my name. That’s about all I remember,” he said with a laugh. “Useless if we’re ever invaded.”

“So, I need to find another foxhole buddy?”

“I don’t know. I’d watch your back,” he said with a smile.

“My back or my ass?”

“Those are not mutually exclusive.” She stopped running. Gendry made it a few paces ahead of her before he did as well. “What’s wrong?”

She huffed out several breaths, hating to let her heart rate drop, but then with Gendry it always seemed to be racing. “Do you like me?”

He frowned. “Of course I like you.”

“I mean...like more than friends like me?”

He was quiet for a long minute and sighed. “You haven’t picked up on that yet?”

“So, that’s a yes?”

“It’s a solid yes. Do you like me in a more than friends way?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have started texting you if I didn’t like you.”

He gave her a bright smile. “I feel like this is one of those moments in movies where people kiss but I’m afraid our mouths would fuse together cause of the cold.”

She grinned and jogged in place. “My apartment is close by. We can warm up there.”

He let out a groan as she jogged past him, but he soon caught up. “Does this mean you’ll go out with me?”

She smiled. “And let all the other guys I’m talking to go?” A scowl crossed his face and she chuckled. “No one but you, Gendry. And yes. We should go on a date.”

They reached her apartment building and she opened the main door and led him to the elevator. When they reached her apartment, she remembered how she had left clothes strewn about and the empty beef jerky containers on her coffee table. She also remembered the large wolf like dog that was likely to pounce on her the second she opened the door.

“I promise I’m not usually this filthy and Nymeria won’t hurt you,” she said before she opened the door and let him in. As she thought, she was immediately assaulted by Nymeria jumping on her, both paws going to her shoulders, long wet tongue licking her face. She pushed her down and she immediately turned her interest to Gendry. Instead of him looking at her clothes hanging from every surface, he seemed to be staring at her high ceilings and large windows. Until Nymeria began sniffing him. Instead of being afraid, though, he crouched, holding his hand out for her to sniff. After a moment, her wolf began licking his hand and nearly knocked him over to give him cuddles. 

He laughed and scratched her behind the ears. “The school paying for this place?”

She laughed and shook her head. “No. My parents are.”

“They rich?”

She suddenly felt self-conscious. “Yeah, I guess. My dad and brother work in a lot of areas. Fishing, mining, forestry. They pay for my apartment and the school pays for everything else. I got a scholarship based on Judo, though.”

She felt like she was burning up and tugged her hoodie over her head. She could feel the static the second she tossed it to the sofa and Gendry cracked a smile. She realized she was standing in her living room in her sports bra and sweatpants, and her hair was sticking up because of static. He crossed to her and smoothed her hair down with both hands, cupped her face, and kissed her. It was officially her first kiss. She was glad she hadn’t had time to think about it too much, worry how she would react. Instead, she followed him, letting him lead. 

She clung to his arms as the kiss lingered. She inwardly celebrated, knowing this was a turning point. At least she hoped he knew she considered herself his girlfriend. She broke away from the kiss and sighed. “I want you to know that I don’t share.”

He smiled and rubbed his nose against hers. Her eyes fluttered closed as they got swept away in one another. She held her breath in anticipation of more. “I don’t either,” he whispered and kissed her again.

*~*

Gendry working in his forge was one of the hottest things she had ever seen. She understood the burn marks along his arms as she watched him hammer a piece of metal flat, then drive it back into the fire. She had brought him dinner, not wanting to disturb him and interrupt her unobstructed view of him at work. She wondered if he got equally hot and bothered watching her fight as she was now watching his muscles flex and sweat roll down the back of his neck. 

He turned from the furnace again, and this time bent the glowing metal around a bar, taking his time with careful pulls so he didn’t break the metal, but the more it cooled, the less he pulled until he removed it and dunked it into a vat of water beside him. 

He suddenly looked up, the look on his face not of surprise, but of want. She suspected she had the same look on her face. He removed his gloves and tossed them onto the bench, then removed the metal piece from the water and placed it beside his gloves. “This is a surprise,” he said with a smile.

She shrugged and stepped forward and held up a bag with takeaway in it. “I come bearing gifts.”

He walked over to her and took the bag from her. He grabbed a stool and drug it to an empty bench beside another stool. “What’s on the menu?”

“Steak, pork chops, salad, broccoli, mushrooms and cauliflower.”

“You can keep the mushrooms.”

“How do you not like mushrooms?”

“I can’t get around the fact that it’s a fungus,” he said as he pulled containers out of the bag. “Why steak and pork chops?”

“I like both and couldn’t decide,” she said with a shrug. 

“You want a water?” he asked as he moved to the small mini fridge. 

“That would be great.”

He handed her a bottle and sat beside her. “This is a really nice thought. I figured I’d have to eat cold pizza when I got home.”

“I can bring you food when you don’t want to eat that stuff.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to. Especially if you’re going to be working late. It gives me an excuse to see you.”

He chewed the bite in his mouth then smiled at her. “You don’t actually need an excuse.”

“I don’t?” 

“No. Feel free to drop by any time.”

“I don’t want to get in your way.”

“You’d only be in my way if you were between me and the forge,” he said with a smile. 

She eyed him again. “No, I don’t think I’ll be interfering there.”

“Same with you and your ring. Though, I don’t like watching people taking a swing at you. I don’t mind seeing you punch the bag or jump rope.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Tits,” he said with a smile and she shoved at him, happy to still be able to be friends and joke around even though there was this sizzling undercurrent of sexual tension. “I’m kidding. Mostly. I mainly just like to see you in your element. You’re fierce and I’m really attracted to that,” he said as he took a bite of her pork chop.

“You’re such a progressive.”

“Yeah, that’s me. Progressive male that works with fire and metal, grunt grunt.”

She shook her head and laughed. “It loses something when you actually say the word ‘grunt’.”

He smiled. “I like making you laugh.”

She nudged him with her shoulder. “You should be pretty happy with yourself. I don’t laugh a lot.”

“Why not?”

“My sister thinks I’m too serious for my own good.”

“What do you think?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I don’t have a sense of humor.”

“Ridiculous. Maybe you don’t spend your life laughing at everything that some dumbass does or says. That doesn’t mean you don’t have a sense of humor.”

“You seem pretty happy.”

He nodded. “I guess I am in a general sense.”

“Any area that you feel you can improve?”

“Actually, yes. I have this weird girl that’s stalking me. Brings me food. Makes me run with her in the morning.”

Arya rolled her eyes. “However do you cope?”

“She’s hot and would kick my ass.”

“I think you’d like it.”

He looked over at her with a nod. “I know I would.”

She felt her heart racing and took a sip of her water. “So, what else do you have to do?”

“I’ve got to finish shaping that piece I was working on and then I have to weld it onto the bigger piece at the end of the bench.”

“More metal and man.”

He nodded. “What are you up to?”

“I’m heading home and going to walk Nymeria. I have a test to study for.”

“Your history class?”

She nodded. “Vocab words and work on the six essay questions we get to choose from.”

He smiled. “Yet you took a break to bring me dinner. I’m honored, my Lady.”

She elbowed him in the side. “Call me that again and I’ll break your ribs.”

He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You may have already,” he said as he rubbed his side with his free hand. 

“Don’t be such a baby. I barely hit you,” she laughed. “But any time you want a fight, step in the ring and I’ll take you.”

He smirked. “As appealing as that sounds on _ other _ levels, I’ll pass. I don’t need broken ribs or any other bones broken as I’m working on my senior project. Might make it hard to bend metal.”

“True. It also might get me in trouble. Be seen as a bad girlfriend.”

“I think bringing me steak and pork chops I can forgive it.”

“Technically the pork chops weren’t to share, but whatever,” she said with a shrug. She tossed her fork down and turned to face him. “Why am I so comfortable with you?”

“Because you know you could make my ankles touch the back of my head,” he laughed. 

She laughed but then she sobered and he did as well. “I’ve had friends that were boys before this, but there was never a physical attraction. If there was a physical attraction they were usually stupid and didn’t interest me at all. Then I meet you and it’s both but I’m not afraid like I feel like I should be.”

He faced her, putting down his utensils and leaned against the bench. “I feel comfortable with you, too. Like I already knew you when we first met.”

“I really like you,” she said as she stared him in the eye. “That’s extremely rare for me. I don’t trust easily and... I trust you.”

He took one of her hands in his. “I will do everything in my power, Arya Stark, to never break that trust.”

She gave him a smile. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“You done eating?” he asked.

She nodded and helped him box everything back up and slipped it into the bag. “Let me lock up here and I’ll walk you home.”

“No, it’s fine—“

“I realize you can take care of yourself, but it will give me peace of mind to see you home. And I’m sure Nymeria misses me.”

She rolled her eyes. “My dog shouldn’t like you more than me.”

He grinned and grabbed his jacket and keys. He even took the food and held it for her as they exited the building. Gendry locked the door and they walked along the streets. He reached over and took her hand in his, which caused her already racing heart to speed more. It was unfair how addicted to him she already was. Would it change once they became truly physical? She already wanted to feel his hands all over her body, she couldn’t imagine what would happen once she did.

They reached her building and she allowed him inside with her. He pulled her against him in the elevator and she smiled as she snuggled into the smell of him. God she could get lost in that scent. It was fire, smoke, metal, and sweat. Once they reached her apartment, Nymeria was circling their feet but soon got the attention she wanted from Gendry as she went into the kitchen to put their food away. She leaned against the door frame and watched him rubbing Nymeria’s belly. “So, would we consider this our first date?”

He looked up from where he was sitting in her living room floor, Nymeria stretched across his lap. His eyes shone bright blue as he smiled. “I think it qualifies. It was a damn good one, too.”

“Had less kissing than I expected.”

“We can certainly remedy that,” he said, brushing the dog off his lap and standing. She crossed the room and looped her arms over his shoulders. He leaned down to take her kiss, his hands placed on her hips. 

Her cellphone began ringing and she groaned against his lips as she dug it out of her back pocket. She sighed. “It’s my brother, Jon.”

“The one that’s on tour.” He placed a kiss on her cheek. “Take it. I’m going to head back. See you tomorrow?”

“I’ll let you buy me breakfast.”

“You’ve got yourself a date,” he said as he placed a kiss on her lips, and left. She took the call from Jon but felt antsy after Gendry left. No one in her family knew about him, didn’t even know they were friends. And of all her family, she was closest with Jon. But she kept her lip sealed, not wanting to tell him or anyone else, but wanted to keep Gendry all to herself for a little while longer.


End file.
